A precious reader took time to type out the following in response to my previous post.  It touched me so deeply that I want to share for others to read.  Thank you for your comforting words and for your time, Anita.

Blessings,

Tina

How well I know that grief that still after years can hit you. I just re-read this poem today and it hit me. I read this so often after our babies died that I memorized without trying. Reading it again today, almost 14 years later, those feelings came back so clearly. I'll be praying for you.

Anita

Lament for a Child

Some thought the pain was less
Because I never saw you
But, oh, I did!
My heart and mind wove textured skin,
Caressed your cheeks, touched fine-spun hair,
And smelled sweet breath.
Although you dwelt within my womb
In darkness, secret and unseen,
I knew your presence there;
A living part of my own flesh,
Whose heart was linked to mine.
And then you left.
Too soon to bear earth's weighted air
And so I silent mourn,
My tears as inward as your life
And yet you truly lived;
As real as if my arms had felt your weight
And sensed your body's warmth
Close pressed to mine.
So now I raise a stone within my soul
to mark your place,
Your name engraved by acid tears.
Still carry you in memory's womb
And feel grief's weight in empty arms.
So tender were the days you lived with me.
Reluctant do I set you free.
Yet I can sense a tempered joy
To think you whole, complete.
Newborn to breathe a fresher air
In worlds more real than those I know.
We wait together, oh my child.
For one day I will reach and find
Your hand within my own,
And feeling that embrace,
Your kiss upon my cheek,
So move from dream into reality
And know a different motherhood at last.
---Author unknown